Professional networking social media company, LinkedIn, has elected to dip its toes into artificial intelligence with the formation of a new recruitment process named “Hiring Assistant.”
Announced on Thursday, the new program tackles a wide range of recruitment tasks. The AI tool leverages LinkedIn’s extensive database and Microsoft Corporation‘s (NASDAQ: MSFT) partnership with OpenAI, incorporating their GPT large language models to provide sophisticated, tailored solutions for recruitment needs.
Hiring Assistant transforms brief notes or existing job postings into detailed, consistent job descriptions, saving recruiters time and ensuring clear role presentations for candidates.
By using advanced algorithms, the AI scans profiles to find matches based on skills, experience, and cultural fit, as inferred from LinkedIn activity and endorsements. This goes beyond simple keyword matching to offer a more nuanced approach to candidate discovery.
Automating routine tasks like resume parsing and initial candidate screening enables recruiters to focus on strategic responsibilities, including personal interaction, negotiation, and final decision-making.
This shift accelerates the hiring process and has the potential to improve the quality of hires by reserving important decisions for human judgment. AI in recruitment also aims to reduce human biases in candidate selection, ultimately promoting workforce diversity by focusing on skills and experience over less relevant factors.
AI can streamline administrative tasks and potentially reduce the cost per hire. While some fear that automation may displace certain roles, others view it as an opportunity for recruiters to evolve, focusing on higher-value activities such as relationship building and strategic talent management.
Adapting to this technology also presents a learning curve, as recruiters must familiarize themselves with AI’s capabilities and limitations.
Read more: Innovative Eyewear surges on release of ‘Lucyd Armor’ smart safety specs
Read more: POET Technologies brings home top honours at 2024 Global Tech Awards
Transparency in AI decision making remains a problem
However, several challenges and considerations come with AI integration. As AI handles sensitive data, ensuring data privacy and compliance with protection regulations is essential. Transparency in AI decision-making processes also remains a concern, as recruiters and platforms like LinkedIn must address this issue to maintain trust.
Additionally, AI systems require regular updates to stay relevant and unbiased, adapting to changes in job markets and evolving skills.
LinkedIn announced that its AI assistant is now live for a “select group” of customers, including large enterprises like AMD (NASDAQ: AMD), Canva, Siemens, and Zurich Insurance, with plans to expand access more widely in the coming months.
The platform has long been an early adopter of AI on its back end, using AI techniques in its algorithms to deliver accurate connection recommendations to users, albeit with some concerns over privacy.
The recent surge in generative AI’s popularity, however, pushed LinkedIn, along with nearly every other tech company, to accelerate improvements to its front end.
“It’s designed to take on a recruiter’s most repetitive task so they can spend more time on the most impactful part of their jobs,” said Hari Srinivasan, LinkedIn’s VP of product.
The product allows users to upload complete job descriptions or simply note the desired content, along with job postings they admire from other companies or roles.
This process generates a list of required qualifications and an initial pipeline of candidates to engage with, helping companies identify potential hires who resemble some candidates or differ from others. The algorithms focus on skills rather than less relevant indicators, such as a person’s location or educational background, according to Srinivasan.
Read more: Big tech is turning to nuclear power to fuel its generative-AI ambitions
Read more: Well Health and Healwell AI work to expand clinical trial access
Hiring Assistant to receive new features
The AI assistant also integrates with third-party application tracking systems, but it ultimately relies on LinkedIn data, which encompasses 1 billion users, 68 million companies, and 41,000 skills.
The company also said that Hiring Assistant will soon receive additional features, including messaging and scheduling support for interviews, as well as handling follow-ups when candidates have questions before or after interviews. The goal is to automate many time-consuming administrative tasks and assist recruiters with their daily decision-making.
Unlike many other AI features LinkedIn has released, Hiring Assistant specifically targets the company’s B2B business and the products it offers to the recruitment industry.
.
Follow Joseph Morton on Twitter
joseph@mugglehead.com